Past perfect or future progressive: How ideology influences our view of time

This thesis examines how individuals' political ideology shape their perceptions of social change over time. Moving beyond the commonly used liberal-conservative dichotomy, a multidimensional model that encompasses conservatism, liberalism, nationalism and socialism is adopted, adapted to the Turkish context. Participants' assessments of six main social themes (respect for authority, family ties, traditionalism, economic equality, traditional values and the general structure of society) were evaluated in four different time periods (1970-1995, 1995-2020, present and future). This approach allowed for a more detailed examination of the relationship between political ideology and temporal perception. The sample consisted of 337 participants aged between 18 and 33. Measures included political ideology, political engagement, future time orientation and perceptions of social change over time. Findings revealed that political ideology influenced perceptions of social change in some areas, but not consistently across all themes. No significant ideological differences were observed in most areas. However, nationalist and conservative respondents tended to view future changes in authority and family ties more negatively. Repeated measures analyses showed a general perception of social regression from the past to the future, regardless of ideological orientation. Political participation and future time orientation were associated with future evaluations in selected domains, but their overall effects were modest. This study contributes to the literature by conceptualizing political ideology as a multidimensional and context-sensitive construct rather than a simple left-right continuum. It also provides a foundation for future research exploring how political beliefs intersect with perceptions of the past and future. Overall, the findings suggest that ideology shapes perceptions of time to some extent, but that this influence is often theme-specific and culturally contextualized. These results emphasize the need for more flexible and local models for understanding political thought and temporal perception.